BY 

MRS.  J.  H.  ARTHUR. 


1 

I 

I 


BOSTON: 

V/OHAJI’S  BAPTIST  I.IISSICHARY  SOCIETY. 
1880. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/womenofjapanOOarth 


THE  WOMEN  OF  JAPAN. 


The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  began  its  course  at  Beth- 
lehem. It  has  encircled  nearly  the  whole  earth,  and  to-day 
is  knocking  for  entrance  at  the  eastern  gate  of  the  same  con- 
tinent whence  it  started.  Throughout  its  course  from  Beth- 
lehem to  the  golden  gate  of  the  Pacific,  this  religion  has 
been  to  woman  her  resurrection  and  her  life.  But,  before 
the  gospel’s  circuit  of  the  world  shall  be  complete,  how 
many  myriads  in  the  jungles  and  cities  of  Asia  wait  in  the 
darkness  to  see  their  Anointed  One,  to  find  their  Saviour ! 

In  the  spring  of  1873, 1 stood  upon  the  deck  of  an  Atlantic 
steamer.  A company  of  Japanese  students  were  on  board, 
going  down  Boston  harbor,  to  bid  farewell  to  Mr.  Arinori 
Mori,  who  had  embarked  for  England  on  that  steamer. 
Mr.  Mori  is  a Japanese  of  fine  European  education  and 
culture.  He  is  now  ambassador  from  Japan  to  England. 
In  a few  moments’  conversation  with  him,  he  said  to  me, 
“The  condition  of  the  women  of  Japan  is  deplorable.”  Mr. 
Mori  sailed  eastward  to  England,  I went  westward  to  Japan  ; 
and,  in  four  years  of  life  among  the  women  of  that  country, 
I found  by  my  own  observation  that  his  words  were  true. 

The  position  of  woman  in  Japan  is  not  so  low  socially 
as  in  many  other  countries  of  Asia.  During  a succession 
of  a hundred  and  twenty-three  mikados,  there  have  been 
eight  ruling  empresses.  Japanese  women  are  also  allowed 
to  hold  property.  We  have  not  in  Japan  to  contend  with 
distinctions  of  caste ; nor  is  infanticide  practised,  as  in 
India.  The  women  do  not  bind  their  feet  as  in  China,  or 
smoke  opium  : on  the  contrary,  the  penalty  for  the  use  of 
that  narcotic  is  ten  years’  imprisonment.  “ But  the  religion 
of  Buddha,  as  believed  in  Japan,  considers  woman  impure, 
and  offers  her  but  little  hope  of  immortality,  unless  she  is 
reborn  as  a man, — which  means  that  there  is  no  salvation 
for  her.” 


4 


Filial  obedience,  which  is  so  great  a virtue  in  itself,  is 
carried  to  excess  in  Japan,  and  becomes  one  of  the  means 
to  woman’s  degradation.  A daughter  will  sell  herself  to 
the  brothel  at  the  command  of  her  parent,  and  consider  it 
a virtue.  An  editorial  in  a secular  paper.  The  Tokio  Times, 
pictures  some  of  the  evils  of  this  parental  bondage.  The 
writer  says:  “The  average  Japanese  wife  is  bound  down  by 
traditions  that  make  her  not  only  subservient  to  her  hus- 
b'and,  but  in  a greater  degree  to  her  husband’s  father  and 
mother,  often  to  his  sisters  and  brothers.  If  these  parents 
are  of  the  non-progressive  order,  conscious  of  their  own 
inferiority,  they  will  oppose  all  mental  and  religious  culture 
in  the  young  wife.  They  will  grind  her  spirit  by  menial 
degradations  and  excesses  of  toil,  with  the  avowed  intent 
of  rooting  out  the  growth  of  her  new  life.”  The  writer 
then  tells  “of  a young  educated  Japanese  girl,  who  was 
wedded  to  a scholar  of  her  own  grade.  From  the  moment 
of  her  marriage,  her  life  was  made  a burden  by  the  cruel 
impositions  of  her  husband’s  family,  who  condemned  her  to 
the  meanest  labors,  and  tried  to  ruin  her  self-respect  by 
placing  prostitutes  between  her  and  the  youth  who  should 
have  protected  her.  After  years  of  uncomplaining  endur- 
ance, urged  on  by  the  infliction  of  still  baser  insults,  she 
took  an  unprecedented  step.  Defying  usage  and  forsaking 
her  family,  she  began  to  earn  an  honest  livelihood  by  the 
exercise  of  her  own  unaided  powers.  She  is  now  enabled 
to  stand  upright  before  the  world,  unsubdued  by  the  efforts 
to  brutalize  her,  and  unstained  by  the  vices  which  spread 
their  corrupting  influence  around  her. 

“ These  sad  histories  are  not  exceptional,  but  are  repeated 
%vith  variations  more  or  less  odious  from  year  to  year.” 

These  evils  of  which  the  writer  speaks  are  brought  to  the 
notice  of  the  government,  but  the  government  cannot  act 
in  advance  of  the  moral  convictions  of  the  people.  They 
must  be  lifted  up,  enlightened,  educated.  The  missionary 
women  are  the  most  efficient  helpers  in  doing  this.  “By 
them  the  Japanese  girl  is  taught  the  ordering  of  a Christian 


s 


home,  a purer  code  of  morals,  a regenerating  spiritual  power 
of  which  Buddhism  knows  nothing.”  The  missionaries 
train  the  Japanese  women ; and  these  in  turn  go  out  among 
the  people,  with  the  Bible  in  their  hands  and  love  to  God 
in  their  hearts.  Through  these  Bible-women,  the  mission- 
aries touch  the  secret  springs  of  society  ; with  the  sweetness 
and  holiness  of  that  Christ  who  himself  was  born  of  woman, 
they  influence  the  mothers  of  the  land. 

The  two  great  religions  of  the  Japanese  nation  are  Shin- 
tooism  and  Buddhism. 

Shintooism  is  the  religion  of  the  upper  classes.  The 
Shintooists  deify  their  ancestors,  worship  the  sun,  and  go 
often  on  weary  pilgrimages.  They  wash  their  hands  as  they 
enter  their  temples;  and  each  kneels  to  worship  before  a 
mirror  of  polished  metal,  which  is  supposed  to  reflect  his 
own  consciousness. 

Buddhism  is  the  religion  of  the  great  masses  of  the  com- 
mon people.  I have  often  stood  at  the  gate  of  Asakusa,  the 
principal  Buddhist  temple  in  Tokio.  I have  watched  the 
mothers  with  their  children  coming  up  to  worship.  They  first 
feed  the  sacred  horse  that  stands  at  the  gateway  and  the 
holy  pigeons  that  swarm  down  from  their  nests  in  the  over- 
hanging roofs  of  the  temple.  At  the  door  is  a box  into 
which  they  throw  their  contributions.  Then  they  ring  a bell 
to  awaken  the  gods,  and,  kneeling  at  the  altar,  chew  paper 
prayers,  and  throw  them  against  the  wall.  At  the  right  of 
the  altar  is  a large  wooden  god,  whose  face  is  entirely  worn 
away  by  the  hands  of  the  sick  people,  who  come  and  rub 
him,  thinking,  like  that  woman  of  old,  that,  if  they  but  touch 
him,  they  will  be  healed.  Around  his  neck  are  a dozen  of 
children’s  bibs,  offerings  of  mothers  for  their  sick  children. 

Let  us  in  thought  follow  one  of  these  women  back  from 
the  temple,  and  enter  into  her  home  life.  As  she  is  walking 
through  the  streets,  we  will  glance  at  her  dress.  It  is  a 
loose  robe  coming  to  the  feet,  and  kept  in  place  by  a girdle 
or  obi,  four  yards  long,  wound  around  the  body,  and  tied  in 
a panier  behind.  She  has  no  veil  or  covering  on  her  head, 


6 


but  her  hair  is  dressed  elaborately;  for  in  Japan  even  the 
poorest  women  employ  a hairdresser,  who  visits  every  house 
two  or  three  times  a week,  the  charge  for  such  a service 
being  only  about  a cent  for  an  hour’s  work.  The  women  so 
saturate  their  hair  with  oil  that  they  do  not  find  it  necessary 
to  arrange  it  more  than  twice  a week.  They  wear  no  orna- 
ments except  in  their  hair,  which  is  dressed  high  on  the 
head,  often  in  the  shape  of  a butterfly  or  open  fan.  The 
number  of  puffs,  together  with  the  style  of  dressing  the  hair, 
indicates  whether  the  person  is  a wife,  a maiden,  or  a widow. 
We  perhaps  notice  that  this  mother  as  she  walks  has  a baby 
on  her  back.  She  has  loosened  her  outside  garment  at  the 
neck  until  it  forms  a sort  of  a bag,  into  which  she  puts  the 
child  ; and  it  is  kept  from  slipping  down  by  the  tightness  of 
the  obi  at  the  waist.  The  disadvantage  of  cairying  the  child 
in  this  way  is  that  its  head  is  thrown  back  when  sleeping, 
and  its  face  unprotected  from  the  intense  rays  of  the  sun. 
This  is  thought  by  physicians  to  be  the  cause  of  much  of 
the  blindness  prevalent  in  that  country. 

When  the  woman  reaches  the  house,  she  takes  off  her 
sandals,  pushes  aside  the  sliding  doors  of  paper,  and  enters 
in  her  stocking  feet.  The  rooms  are  softly  matted,  but 
contain  no  furniture.  The  houses  are  built  of  wood,  and 
among  the  poorer  classes  ha\  c but  two  or  three  rooms.  In 
the  kitchen  is  a large  stone  box,  with  ashes  and  burning 
coals  in  it.  This  is  called  the  hibachi,  and  over  it  the  rice 
is  cooked.  There  is  no  chimney  in  the  kitchen,  but  the 
smoke  goes  out  either  through  an  opening  in  the  roof,  or 
imperceptibly  through  the  broad  open  doors.  After  the  rice 
is  cooked,  it  is  put  into  a small,  unpainted,  wooden  tub.  At 
dinner  time,  the  mother  brings  out  a little  table,  two  feet 
square  and  one  foot  high,  with  dishes  and  food  upon  it. 
The  family  sit  upon  the  mats,  the  tub  of  rice  is  in  the 
centre,  and  each  one  dips  out  into  a bowl,  from  this  central 
dish,  rice  sufficient  for  himself.  They  often  pour  tea  over 
the  rice,  and  always  eat  it  with  chopsticks.  Fish,  sweet 
potatoes,  and  a pickle  made  from  a vegetable  called  the 


7 


daikon,  are  sometimes  served  with  the  dinner.  Japanese 
houses  often  have  but  one  sleeping-room,  which  is  occupied 
by  the  entire  family.  When  guests  come,  they  share  it  with 
them.  The  beds  consist  of  heavy  comforters  called  futans. 
They  are  spread  out  on  the  mats  at  night,  and  put  away  in 
closets  during  the  day.  Each  person  lays  his  head,  in 
sleeping,  on  a little  wooden  pillow,  constructed  with  a 
hollow  place  in  w^hich  the  head  may  rest. 

In  some  room  of  the  house  is  a closet  containing  a shelf 
for  gods ; and  upon  this  shelf  stand  all  the  household  idols 
which  have  come  down  as  heirlooms  of  the  family  from  gen- 
eration to  generation.  One  of  the  best  tests  of  the  sincerity 
of  the  Christian  converts  in  Japan  is  their  willingness  to  put 
away  these  idols ; for  it  proclaims  at  once  to  their  friends  and 
priests  that  they  have  renounced  the  religion  of  their  fathers. 
In  our  own  church  in  Tokio,  four  women  over  fifty  years  of 
age,  on  the  evening  before  their  baptism,  took  down  from  these 
shelves  their  sacred  household  gods,  w'hich  for  half  a century 
they  had  worshipped,  and  destroyed  them.  One  threw  hers 
into  the  river,  another  hers  into  the  fire,  while  still  another 
brought  an  armful  of  her  idols  to  us.  There  were  household 
images  of  Buddha,  ancestral  tablets,  scrolls  and  medicine 
charms  printed  on  paper.  One  of  these  she  had  already 
eaten  during  an  illness,  to  drive  away  the  evil  spirit  of  dis- 
ease. This  same  woman,  after  becoming  a member  of  the 
church,  came  to  Miss  Kidder,  and,  laying  down  her  pipe 
upon  the  table,  said,  “ I give  up  this,  my  last  idol,  for  Christ.” 

Incidents  often  occur  which  show  that  the  worship  of  these 
gods  is  unsatisfying  to  the  people.  A w’oman  nearly  ninety 
years  of  age,  coming  one  day  from  the  country,  looked  in 
through  our  gateway.  We  invited  her  to  enter.  She  stayed 
with  us  for  an  hour.  She  had  never  before  seen  a foreign 
house,  nor  heard  of  our  religion.  On  the  next  Sunday  she 
came  at  nine  o’clock  in  the  morning,  and  stayed  to  services 
during  the  day.  At  night  she  said,  “ I have  lived  all  my  life- 
time under  God’s  shadow,  and  did  not  know  it.”  As  she 
left  us,  her  words  seemed  almost  like  those  of  Simeon  of  old, 


8 


— “ Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace  ; for 
jnine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation.” 

The  occupation  of  the  women  of  Japan  is  usually  the  care 
■of  house  and  children.  They  sometimes,  however,  work  in  the 
fields  and  do  other  heavy  labor ; but  with  the  care  of  a large 
family,  and  in  many  cases  extreme  poverty,  their  husbands 
-often  spending  their  small  earnings  in  dissipation,  the  bur- 
dens of  the  mothers  in  Japan  are  not  light. 

On  marrying,  the  women  blacken  their  teeth.  This  custom 
has  come  down  from  a very  beautiful  empress,  who  in  devo- 
tion to  her  husband  blackened  her  teeth,  that  she  might 
become  less  attractive  to  others.  The  children  are  often 
betrothed  by  their  parents  when  very  young.  Miss  Kidder, 
of  Tokio,  writes:  “This  betrothal  by  the  parents  is  a very 
hurtful  and  serious  matter,  but  we  missionaries  cannot  touch 
it  only  as  the  fruits  of  Christianity  shall  bring  it  about.  The 
girls  must  marry,  and  universally  in  their  teens  ; and,  if  to  a 
heathen,  they  have,  in  almost  every  instance  I have  known, 
followed  their  husbands,  and  not  Christ.  . . . This,”-  she  says, 
“ is  a matter  of  solicitude  in  regard  to  my  school  of  girls  ” ; 
and  she  rejoices  that  in  the  last  year  she  has  been  enabled  to 
■establish  two  or  three  Christian  homes.  Licentiousness  is 
the  great  sin  which  seems  to  enter  in  and  poison  the  life  of 
the  Japanese  women.  In  the  suburbs  of  the  city  of  Tokio 
is  the  Yoshiwara,  a collection  of  beautiful  buildings  open  to 
the  street  from  basement  to  roof,  and  screened  with  lattice. 
It  is  the  gateway  of  ruin  to  thousands  of  the  women  of 
Japan.  It  is  one  of  the  sources  of  poison  to  the  blood  of 
the  nation.  Its  fruits  are  seen  in  the  diseased  children  in 
the  streets  of  the  lower  parts  of  the  city. 

The  masses  of  the  Japanese  people  have  but  little  medical 
knowledge,  nor  do  they  seem  to  understand  the  simplest  sani- 
tary laws.  Fruit  is  gathered  when  green,  and  is  freely  eaten 
by  the  children  while  hard  and  unripe.  The  women  keep 
their  houses  neat  and  clean,  and  the  streets  are  swept ; but 
there  is  a lack  of  drainage,  and  slime  rises  green  to  the  sur- 
face of  some  of  the  stagnant  moats.  During  the  pestilence 


9 


of  the  small-pox,  which  swept  over  the  land  in  1875,  the  sick 
were  sometimes  carried  in  ambulances  through  the  streets ; 
and  children  who  had  only  partially  recovered  from  this  con- 
tagious disease  mingled  with  the  crowds  of  passers  by. 

When  one  of  a Japanese  family  is  sick,  the  parents  consult 
the  gods.  The  priests  bring  charms  to  drive  away  the  dis- 
ease, while  the  Japanese  doctor  comes  with  medicine  suffi- 
cient in  quantity  and  quality  to  destroy  rather  than  cure. 
Far  more  efficient  than  these  is  the  simple  diet  allowed  of 
soft  boiled  rice,  and  the  ignorant  but  kind  nursing  of  sick 
children  by  their  mothers.  Medical  missionaries  with  a prac- 
tical knowledge  of  all  the  natural  laws  for  the  preservation 
of  health,  and  with  experience  in  nursing  the  sick,  I believe 
to  be  nearest  in  type  to  that  first  divine  Missionary,  who 
brought  not  only  salvation  to  the  souls  of  men,  but  healed 
also  the  sick. 

The  means  of  education  among  the  Japanese  women  are 
limited.  There  are  schools  established  by  government  all 
over  the  land,  where  girls  may  attend,  wherein  reading  and 
writing  are  taught  in  both  Japanese  and  Chinese  ; but  it  is  a 
laborious  study  of  years  to  obtain  proficiency  in  these  lan- 
guages, and,  when  they  are  once  learned,  they  open  to  the 
learner  only  a meagre  literature,  full  of  impossible  stories  of 
foxes  and  badgers.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  Japanese 
nation  with  its  progressive  spirit  is  eager  for  the  English  lan- 
guage, when  in  it  they  see  such  an  avenue  to  knowledge 
reaching  out  in  every  direction  ? If  w’ith  the  acquirement  of 
the  English  language  the  Bible  shall  go  into  Japan  shall  not 
the  people,  beholding  as  in  a glass  the  glory  of  the  Son  of 
God,  be  changed  into  his  likeness  in  their  lives  and  in  their 
characters  ? 

The  Japanese  children  are  early  taught  strict  rules  of  eti- 
quette. With  them  it  is  not  so  bad  to  tell  a lie  as  it  is  to  be 
impolite.  An  incident,  however,  may  show  that  this  univer- 
sal law  of  etiquette  is  a help  to  us  in  reaching  the  hearts  of 
the  people. 

O Hama,  one  of  our  Bible-women,  has  a brother,  who  is  a 


lO 


'jnan  holding  a position  of  trust  under  the  government,  and  is 
much  respected  and  loved  by  his  family.  He  has  been,  how- 
ever, a devout  idolater.  When  his  sister  became  an  earnest 
Christian  worker,  he  was  much  displeased,  said  she  was  crazy, 
and  that  he  did  not  wish  to  hear  anything  about  Christianity. 
Nevertheless,  his  sister  after  a while  came  to  him,  and  asked 
permission  to  hold  meetings  at  the  house  with  his  wife  and 
other  women  of  the  family.  He  granted  them  the  request, 
on  the  ground  that  it  did  not  become  a Japanese  to  be  rude 
or  impolite  to  any  one.  The  meetings  were  held.  The  seed 
planted  brought  forth  fruit.  The  wife  heard  and  believed. 
Then  the  little  daughter,  when  her  father  went  to  pray  before 
his  idols,  came  and  took  his  hand,  and  said,  “ Pray  to  the 
true  God : he  will  listen  to  you,  but  this  god  cannot  hear ! ” 
Afterward  the  little  child  asked  her  father  to  lead  her  to  the 
meetings  that  were  held  in  Surugadai : he  went  with  her, 
urging  as  a reason  for  his  presence  the  importunity  of  his 
daughter.  A few  months  only,  and  the  father  came  and  said  : 
“ I have  put  away  my  idols  out  of  my  house.  I believe  in 
4ind  pray  to  the  true  God.”  And  to-day  the  husband,  the 
wife,  and  the  chilS  form  a united  Christian  family. 

I sat  at  a table  with  a lady  in  the  vicinity  of  educated 
Boston,  and  she  said  to  me,  “What  a divine  religion  is 
Buddhism ! ” I replied,  “ By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,” 
and  said  that  Buddhism  had  not  lifted  up  a single  nation 
of  the  East,  even  to  semi-civilization  ; and  that  Japan,  shut 
up  to  Buddhism  and  Shintooism  for  two  thousand  years,  was 
the  witness  to  the  truth  of  my  statement.  Torture  and 
orucifi.xion  used  as  punishment  for  the  simplest  offences ; 
prostitution  sanctioned  by  the  government ; daughters  con- 
sidering it  virtuous  to  sell  themselves  to  lives  of  infamy 
to  support  their  parents  ; suicide  committed  for  the  slightest 
•c.ause,  and  life  valued  but  little ; the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the 
insane  suffering  from  ignorant  and  superstitious  treatment ; 
the  nation  spending  its  time  and  money  worshipping  foxes 
and  pieces  of  wood, — these,  I said,  were  the  fruits  of 
Jiuddhism  in  Japan.  But  now,  when  for  only  twenty-six 


years  the  country  has  come  under  the  influence  of  the 
Christian  religion,  the  whole  nation  is  awakened,  and  its- 
leaders  are  beginning  to  feel  that  the  day  of  their  redemp- 
tion draweth  nigh. 

The  women  of  America  have  begun  a good  work  in  Japan.. 
All  honor  both  to  those  women  who  have  gone,  and  to  those 
at  home  who  support  them ! Miss  Sands  from  YokohamoL 
writes  me  : — 

“ My  only  prayer  is  for  many  years  in  Japan.  Such  a work, 
and  such  a people  ! Why  do  they  not  send  more  mission- 
aries? Tell  the  people  how  wonderfully  the  Lord  is  opening: 
Japan  to  the  gospel.” 

As  Christian  churches,  we  look  out  upon  the  seven  hundred 
millions  of  people  who  have  never  heard  of  Christ,  and  we 
say  to  the  missionaries  scattered  here  and  there  among  them 
“Watchman,  what  of  the  night?  What  are  the  signs  of 
promise  ? ” From  the  land  of  the  Teloogoos  and  all  along  the 
line  comes  back  to  us  the  answer  that  the  darkness  is  lifting, 
the  day  breaking.  I believe  that  the  churches  should  arise 
in  their  strength,  that  they  should  not  only  support  the 
missionaries  upon  the  foreign  field  with  the  mere  necessities 
for  their  work,  but  also,  in  the  spirit  of  Him  who  was  rich,, 
yet  became  poor  for  our  sake,  give  them  abundantly,  that, 
their  work  may  broaden  and  deepen. 

And  those  of  you  at  home  who  by  your  prayers,  labors, 
and  gifts  support  the  missionaries  upon  the  foreign  field,  you 
share  with  them  in  the  blessedness  of  the  work,  and  through 
them  your  prayers  for  the  conversion  of  the  world  are 
receiving  answers. 

And,  because  you  do  thus  offer  to  these  heathen  women 
the  true  bread,  to  you  shall  be  the  promise  which  our  Lord 
gave  those  who  to  their  feasts  should  invite  the  poor  and 
the  blind, — “ They  cannot  recompense  you,  but  ye  shall  be 
recompensed  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just.” 


THB  SAILS  ARE  SET. 


Mrs.  J.  H.  ARTHUR. 
, Andanlino. 


LEONARD  M.VRSII.VLL. 






ly 

1.  The  sails  are  set,  the  anchor  weighed,  Our  ship  goes  sailing,  sail-iug ; 

cr  ^ 9 9 I -0  % -^  0- 

2.  ’Tis  break  of  day,  and  far  as  tern  I watch  the  sea-weed  drifting  ; 


pi 

Come,  west  winds, from  your  cloudy  caves  In  breezes  nev  - er  fail  - ing. 

T-  ^ 9 9 9^0^^  0,^  0 

The  com  - ing  dawn  from  off  the  sea  The  shades  of  night  are  lift  ing. 


F,- 


E^E^EE^dE'EiE 

-0—0 — — 

3 


-0^ -9-^-0 — 9- 


1 


O rays  of  light  from  out  the  East!  The  joys  I leave  are  hut  to  me 
Ye  bring  the  voice  of  wailing;  x\s  seaweed  idly  drifting; 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  l)reathe  on  me  For  on  that  sea  of  human  souls 
Thy  comfort  never  failing.  I w'atch  the  shadows  lifting. 

4 6 

To  lands  far-off  for  thee,  O Christ,  Ye  west  winds  blow!  Thou  ship 
I go  to  tell  the  storv ! speed  on! 

Shine  thou  upon  that  sea  of  souls,  My  hopes  with  thee  are  sailing; 
And  flood  it  with  thy  glory.  O Holy  Spirit!  breathe  on  me 

Thy  comfort  never  failing. 

7 

So  shall  my  heart  for  work  so  great 
Be  strong  in  its  endeavor, 

Until  my  soul  above  its  fears 
Is  lifted  up  forever. 


